The Nightmare Won't End
by ArmAndLeg
Summary: What if Membrane hadn't saved his son in time in Bad, Bad Rubber Piggy. Takes place a week after Dib's death.


AN: A "What if" story. Though, a LOT of fanfiction is made up of this kind of story. ^_^;; I will spare you of the details so you can read and be more shocked.

Warnings: Ahh… It's an Alternative History fic. Think about it… It'll make sense in time…Think of it this way: What if Dib had NOT survived the freak rubber piggy accident, because Membrane hadn't created Mega Boy 3000 in time? Give you enough clues, now? ^_^;;

The Nightmare Won't End

Zim tossed and turned in his bed, sweat glistening from his forehead. Suddenly, he shot straight up, mumbling something to himself. This had happened every night for the past week. And every night the dream was the same. 

"Why…why must I relive that moment?! Dib's out of my hair!" Zim whispered to himself. He shut his eyes and tried to force the memory out of his head. A once glorious memory, now one that he hated with all his might, because it had caused him unbearable suffering. He had thought that with Dib out of his way for good, he could take control of the Earth in less than a week.

And how wrong he was, since his dream state decided to plague him with memories of the event, but always twisting them in new ways, with the out come always the same. 

Dib's mangled body crushed by two seemingly innocent rubber piggies flashed against the inside of his eyelids once more. 

"He's no longer a threat! I should be happy!" Zim hissed. Zim opened his eyes once more and studied his lab. There was the machine. The very machine he had thrown merciless amount of rubber pigs in because he had wanted to rid himself of his enemy. And every time he relived that memory now, it hurt. It hurt because Zim had realized, suddenly, just how much a caring creature he really was. That he had never wanted to harm the human in such a way.

And like a lot of things Zim realized, this bit of information came a little bit too late. Dib was dead, and there was nothing he could do to change that. There was nothing he could do to bring back the rivalry they once had. Nothing could bring back the constant adrenaline rushes their sparing sessions had caused. Zim's sense of living on Earth had changed drastically, and he now felt as if there was nothing for him to do. 

As quietly as he could, Zim tossed his blankets aside and walked over to one of the many control panels of his lab. This was the very same spot he had watched Dib's life line, heart line, and so forth slow to single, straight lines. Zim couldn't believe that Dib had been finished off only about a week ago. To him, it had seemed much longer. 

"And to think, I could go with a clear conscious after killing someone I knew nothing about, but I can't get rid of my guilt for killing my worst enemy," Zim mumbled to himself. "If only I had known exactly what I would cause to myself before killing Dib, I wouldn't have done it." 

"Another nightmare, Master?" Gir asked from behind him.

"Yes, Gir, now go back and guard the upper levels," Zim ordered tiredly. He had to find a way to clear his conscious. There was no way he'd be able to conquer Earth, at this rate. Now there was that nagging little guilt, that little meddlesome emotion, that just wouldn't let him live it down. 

"I don't like it when Master is sad," Gir said as he hugged Zim from behind. Zim just let the android hug him, trying to ignore the sentimental drivel that was coming from it. He didn't need this. No one should care about a creature who killed and enjoyed killing a person. 

"It's okay, Gir, I'll be fine," Zim stated. "Now, go do as I told you to." And for one of the rare times in his life, Gir listened. Zim was glad for that. He didn't feel like dealing with the robot's sympathies. His nightmares were of his own creation. There was no way he was going to get out of this one. It was his real life, after all. He would have to ask forgiveness of the Membrane family themselves for killing Dib, and _then_ he would have to deal with explaining. Something Zim was never really good at to begin with. 

Zim knew he was going to have to live with this for the rest of his life. There was no way this nightmare that he had created for himself was going to end. Zim sighed and walked back to his bed, one he had placed somewhere in his lab a while ago, and sat down in it. He was going to be having a hard time sleeping, but he needed to rest. 

And maybe, one day, he could forget what he had done, and how much he had regretted it.

Bah, I've been on a short fic phase lately. Cool. ^_^; I need serious help, can't you tell? I wrote two whole fics in less than twenty-four hours…. One fluffy, the other…well, it's THIS fic. ^_^;; Aren't I strange? Okay. I need sleep. It's 2 AM here…


End file.
